Global gains to boost Gulf; Egypt violence may weigh

Strong rallies on global markets are likely to lift sentiment in the Gulf on Sunday, but deadly clashes in Egypt over the weekend may spur a risk-off stance from Cairo investors.

Saudi Arabia's measure rose 0.4 percent on Saturday. A positive lead from the kingdom, the only regional market trading on a Saturday, usually leads to an upbeat start to the trading week on other Gulf bourses.

Signs of a healthier European financial system and solid U.S. corporate earnings helped lift global equity markets on Friday. The U.S. benchmark S&P 500 index closed above the 1,500 mark for the first time in more than five years.

In Egypt, at least 32 people were killed on Saturday during protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster. The violence is a sign of further instability and discontent in a political crisis facing Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.

Egyptian investors have cut their equity positions in recent sessions, but foreign funds have been net buyers, helping to limit losses on the Cairo bourse.

Elsewhere, Dubai's index hovers near a long-term resistance level around 1,793 points, the peak of October 2010.

"The market is at risk of correcting lower, cautioning us to move the stop loss higher at 1,765 points," MENA Corp says in a note. "Provided market conditions remain the same, the take profit level (at 1,830) will be reached soon."